There may be many different types of personnel protective masks (diving, firefighting, mining, confined space, etc.) that may use a mounting band type clamp to securely mount and seal the hood and/or face seal components to the mask.
The mount band(s) on these masks may be a hose clamp-type of design. They may be a long strap that may be configured to couple the ends together, which is utilized for adjusting or tightening a hood to the mask. The tightening action of the mounting band(s) may be what securely clamps and seals the hood, and/or face seals the mask. This may allow the hood and/or face seals to be regularly maintained or changed.
The masks may have a groove or mounting surface around the back edge of the mask where the hood and/or face seal fit across and/or into for mounting to the mask. The mounting band(s) then may fit over the hood and/or face seal into this groove in the mask. This groove may help to hold everything in place when it has all been installed and tightened. There may be, however, nothing that physically or mechanically connects and secures the mounting band(s) to the mask, it may be merely the clamping force of the mounting band holding the hood and/or face seal and mounting band(s) in the groove and sealing them to the mask.
Some of the mounting band(s) may have head harness mount studs or buckles attached to them. A problem may arise when masks using mounting band(s) are not correctly maintained and properly adjusted, as they may become loose. If the band(s) become loose there may be the potential that the mask may separate from any combination of the hood, face seal, or mounting band(s), or the mask from all of them at once.
The hoods and/or face seals currently being produced for personnel protective masks may use the mounting band(s) design to mount the hood and/or face seal, may have a flat mounting flap-type of area for the attachment/sealing of the hood and/or face seal to the mask. This flap area, when installed, may be clamped between the mounting band(s) and the mask securing and sealing the hood and/or face seal to the mask.
There may be several different types of hoods and/or face seals. Some may be just a hood or just a face seal. Some may have the face seal glued to the inside of the hood. Some may stack the face seal, then the hood under the mounting band(s) on the mask.
Some hoods and/or face seals may have a mating groove molded or created into them for the mounting band(s) to mate or fit into. Some of them may have a bump or protrusion at the end of the mounting flap that may help prevent the mounting flap from being extracted or pulled out from between the mounting band(s) and mask. Both the mating groove and bump or protrusion at the end of the flap may fail if the mounting band(s) are not properly maintained, are out of adjustment, or if there is a catastrophic failure (broken bolt, stripped nut, etc.).
What is needed is a retaining system that may provide a redundant, retrofittable, and safer system for retaining masks, and the like, a greater level of safety, and may be retrofittable to existing systems.